Prestigious award for training centre

The Duchess of Northumberland interacting with a patient manikin at the official opening of DASH, which is based at Wansbeck General Hospital. Picture by Gavin Duthie.

Published:11:30Wednesday 03 May 2017

Share this article

A health facility in Northumberland was among the winners at the 2017 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards, North East ceremony.

Wansbeck General Hospital’s state-of-the-art training centre known as DASH (Dinwoodie Assessment and Simulation Hub) was successful in the infrastructure category.

The Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust unit is equipped with the latest technology and patient manikins and provides advanced training for staff and NHS employees from across the region.

Purpose-designed with two six-bed bays and multiple teaching areas, it also has an on-site control centre that allows assessors to monitor the progress of those being trained.

It was officially opened by the Duchess of Northumberland in November.

The manager of the centre is Nicky Jenkins, a nurse with more than 20 years of experience working in emergency care.

She said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious award.

“We are indebted to our partners, whose input has enabled us to create this pioneering centre.

“It has transformed simulation-based training – not only in our trust, but in the region.

“Since the centre opened last year, we have hosted teams from across our trust, the North East and further afield and everyone has been impressed by the high quality facilities and top-class learning experience it offers.

“While this type of training has always played a key part of the on-going development of our staff, being able to have a bespoke centre designed specifically for our needs has been a tremendous boost for our teams and shows that Northumbria is leading the field in the area.

“In today’s ever-evolving NHS, it’s so important for staff to be able to practise skills, particularly for complex procedures, in a safe clinical environment.”